Outgoing HVC chief walks out of function
Chandigarh, November 9
The installation ceremony of the new president and executive of the Youth Congress in Haryana struck a discordant note today with the outgoing chief of the Haryana Youth Congress, Mr Satwinder Singh Sandhu, leaving the function in a huff in protest against a remark made by the Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Mobile Farmer Training Centre set up
Chandigarh, November 9
In order to reach out to the huge unexplored agriculture sector in Haryana, the first of its kind mobile Farmer Training Centre (FTC) has been set up by Punjab National Bank. This will be formally launched on
November 12.

Ex-minister Arya dead
Bhiwani, November 9
The body of former minister Hira Nand Arya was consigned to the flames at his native Jhanjhra village today.

Board clears krishi kendra for Mewat
Chandigarh, November 9
A Krishi Gyan Kendra, an agriculture training institute and a centre of the Haryana Land Reclamation and Development Corporation will be set up for the promotion of agriculture in the Mewat area.

Dengue fever ebbing, says CMO
Hisar, November 9
Allaying the fear of dengue relapse in the district, the Chief Medical Officer, Dr S.K. Naval, has said all cases of viral fever accompanied by a fall in platelets were not those of dengue infection.

Bhajan Lal’s men hold meeting
Ambala, November 9
Loyalists of former Haryana Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhajan Lal held a meeting at PWD Rest House in Ambala Cantonment today.

2 get police remand for sacrilege
Fatehabad, November 9
A local court today remanded two persons accused of sacrilege to a day’s police custody at Tohana town in the district. The accused had thrown a holy book into a river.

Fake currency racket busted
Ambala, November 9
The police busted a racket of fake currency last late night. According to sources, the police recovered a computer, a printer and a large quantity of fake currency notes from their possession.

Chandigarh, November 9
The installation ceremony of the new president and executive of the Youth Congress in Haryana struck a discordant note today with the outgoing chief of the Haryana Youth Congress (HYC), Mr Satwinder Singh Sandhu, leaving the function in a huff in protest against a remark made by the Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Mr Hooda, who was the last speaker to address the function held in the open space in front of the HPCC office here, said during his tenure as the president of the PCC, he did not get adequate support from the HYC. “I do not want to dwell upon why I did not get its cooperation. I hope the new HYC executive performs a more useful role”, Mr Hooda said.

Mr Sandhu, who was sitting on the dais along with other leaders, was seen getting up from his seat immediately and leaving the venue after a brief conversation with the Youth Congress’s national president, Mr Ashok Tanwar.

Mr Sandhu, when contacted by this reporter, said he had every reason to get worked up over the Chief Minister’s remark. “During my tenure as the HYC president, one Lok Sabha poll and one Vidhan Sabha election were held and the Congress secured a huge majority in both elections. On the other hand when Mr Hooda was the chief of the HPCC, the Congress had even lost in byelections”, Mr Sandhu said.

Mr Sandhu added that he went to prison twice in connection with agitations against the then Om Prakash Chautala-led government in the state. He said he had been arrested on 17 occasions by the Haryana Police. Listing other agitational activities of the HYC during his tenure as its chief, Mr Sandhu said Mr Hooda’s remark amounted to an assault against the Youth Congress organisation.

Mr Sanjay Chhokker, who has replaced Mr Sandhu as the HYC chief, was a general secretary in the last HYC executive. When he was asked whether he also shared Mr Hooda’s views that the HYC had performed poorly during Mr Sandhu’s tenure, Mr Chhokker said the last HYC also worked hard and its job was doubly difficult because the Congress was in the Opposition at that time.

It is, however, understood that in the garb of criticising Mr Sandhu, Mr Hooda was actually targeting Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, Transport, Public Health and Parliamentary Affairs Minister of Haryana. Mr Surjewala, who was the national president of the Youth Congress, had installed Mr Sandhu as head of the HYC. Mr Hooda was actually pulling up Mr Surjewala for the alleged lack of cooperation by the latter.

Mr Surjewala, who, too, was present at the function, did not leave the venue.

Mr Birender Singh, Finance Minister, also made a controversial remark when he said that in a deviation from tradition, this time the whole HYC executive had been constituted by party bosses in Delhi. He said earlier the practice was that the HYC chief would choose the executive.

Mr Tanwar, in his speech, replied to Mr Birender Singh’s charge, saying that the new HYC chief would find it easier to function with an executive already in place. There are 26 members in the HYC executive, including six vice-presidents and nine general secretaries.

Chandigarh, November 9
In order to reach out to the huge unexplored agriculture sector in Haryana, the first of its kind mobile Farmer Training Centre (FTC) has been set up by Punjab National Bank. This will be formally launched on
November 12.

The mobile FTC van will serve as a mobile agri-clinic besides serving as an information kiosk for all agriculture related activities and institutional credit to farmers.

The services will be provided free of cost to farmers in Haryana. While the van has been established by Punjab National Bank, the technical support is being provided by CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar.

“A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with HAU for providing this support.

The agriculture experts from the university will be stationed at the van, though we will also be training the staff from FTC Sacha Khera for carrying out the tests and disseminating information,” said Mr B. P. Chopra, General Manager, Punjab National Bank, Haryana zone.

Set up at a cost of Rs 11 lakh, this van will also have a facility for treatment of animals and medicines, publicity material and teaching aids to educate farmers.

The idea behind launching this van is to reach out to the farmers, rather than farmers coming to us, said Mr Chopra. “Though we had established a FTC at village Sacha Khera in Jind
district in year 2003, we felt that we could serve the farmers better through a
mobile FTC.

In fact, this is mobile FTC will be a pilot project, to be implemented later in other parts of the country,” he added.

This mobile FTC will be stationed at Sacha Khera, and on receiving demands from farmers’ groups or village panchayats, it will be going to other parts of the state.

Mr Chopra informed TNS that the bank was also going to launch a new scheme called Kisan Mitra, wherein four rural youth will be trained to provide extension
services in agriculture and allied activities, and financial counselling to people
in rural areas.

They will be paid Rs 2500 a month along with conveyance charges of Rs 1000 a month.

Bhiwani, November 9
The body of former minister Hira Nand Arya was consigned to the flames at his native Jhanjhra village today.

After prolonged illness, Mr Arya took his last breath at about 9.10 pm last night at the local Civil Hospital. He was under treatment at the hospital for the past four months.

Mr Arya is survived by a son and three daughters.

Born on August 11, 1937, Mr Arya did his B.A. from Pilani in Rajasthan and thereafter got his Ll.B. degree from Chandigarh. He was married to Birmati of Shishwala village in 1963.

He started his political life in 1965 when he was elected Chairman of the Block Committee of Loharu and remained MLA five times from the Loharu Assembly constituency. He handled the Education and Finance portfolios during his terms. He first became Labour Minister in the coalition government of Rao Birender Singh and was inducted into the Cabinet by Devi Lal and Bhajan Lal.

In 1972, he was denied party ticket and he contested the election from Loharu as an Independent candidate but he lost the election by a low margin.

During the Janata Party wave in 1977, he was elected and made Education Minister in the Devi Lal Cabinet. He represented this constituency in 1982 and 1987 and became Cabinet minister.

As Education Minister, he played an important role in the transfer of the headquarters of the Haryana Board of School Education but later resigned from the Bhajan Lal ministry.

Chandigarh, November 9
A Krishi Gyan Kendra, an agriculture training institute and a centre of the Haryana Land Reclamation and Development Corporation will be set up for the promotion of agriculture in the Mewat area.

This was decided at the 22nd meeting of the Mewat Development Board which was held here today under the chairmanship of the Haryana Governor and Chairman of the board, Mr A.R. Kidwai.

The others who attended the meeting included the Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The board considered proposals for the promotion of basic and technical education by setting up ITI’s and three Kasturba Gandhi Bhavan Vidyalayas in the area.

In order to tackle the problem of shortage of teachers in the Mewat area, the board approved the continuation of vacancies reserved for Mewati women for another five sessions. The board also approved the upgradation of the infrastructure of Government Elementary Teachers Training Institute at Ferozpur Namak. As the Mewat area does not have any institute for higher education, a postgraduate study centre was also approved for setting up by MDU, Rohtak.

The board also cleared the setting up of the Garment Technology Institute in consultation with the Apparel Training and Design Council, Government of India. It was also decided to set up a driving school at the ITI, Nagina.

Keeping in view the expansion of industrial activities in the NCR and adjoining areas, the board approved proposals for the expansion and upgradation of the Rozka Meo and Hathin Industrial Estates through HUDA.

Hisar, November 9
Allaying the fear of dengue relapse in the district, the Chief Medical Officer, Dr S.K. Naval, has said all cases of viral fever accompanied by a fall in platelets were not those of dengue infection.

"Blood platelet count is reduced in many cases of viral infection and fever other than dengue," he said while talking to The Tribune here today.

Dr Naval maintained that even blood tests conducted by private medical laboratories could wrongly detect dengue infection due to inadequate diagnostic procedures. "Such inappropriate diagnoses, coupled with media reports, give an impression that there is a fresh outbreak of dengue in the region, which is not true," he asserted.

He, however, stated that preventive measures were being adopted to check the spread of dengue and other viral infections. No dengue death had been reported from the district so far, but several private hospitals were claiming to be treating a number of suspected dengue patients, he said.

Dr Kamal Kishore, a consultant physician at the NC Jindal Institute of Medical Care and Research, however, said due to delayed winter, mosquitoes causing dengue and other viral infections were still active. He cautioned suspected dengue patients not to get intra-muscular injections as it could lead to complications.

Fatehabad, November 9
A local court today remanded two persons accused of sacrilege to a day’s police custody at Tohana town in the district. The accused had thrown a holy book into a river.

The incident occurred at Tohana on Tuesday. The report said some persons had kept the holy book on a vacant government land with the aim of encroaching upon that piece of land. The holy scripture had been brought from Aherwan village in the district. The two accused, Bhola Singh and Baldev Singh, threw it into the Bhakra canal passing through the town.

The local administration immediately swung into action after Mr Awtar Singh Nangla, president of the Gurdwara Singh Sabha, reported the matter to the police. The accused were taken into custody by the police and produced before the Judicial Magistrate, Mr Bhupinder Nath.

Ambala, November 9
The police busted a racket of fake currency last late night. According to sources, the police recovered a computer, a printer and a large quantity of fake currency notes from their possession.